Encouraging Developments in the Geert Wilders Trial

More encouraging, Western liberty (and sanity)-sparing developments from the dangerously absurd Geert Wilders trial. As Ned May reports, with timely English translation from the local Dutch coverage at Elsevier, barring an unusual reversal by the presiding judge, prosecutors have now dropped all three charges against Mr. Wilders.

[Friday, October 15, 2010] The Public Prosecutor (OM) has asked the court in Amsterdam to acquit Geert Wilders of inciting to hatred AND religious discrimination.

The prosecution thus has on all three points demanded acquittal for Wilders. Although Wilders had made some statements that might incite to discrimination, the OM does not find these punishable, because Wilders made these statements in the context of the political debate.

The OM does not comply with the rulings for which the Freedom Party leader is on trial, all the criteria for incitement to hatred.

As further reported in translation by Ned, from the Dutch news outlet RTL, Wilders was unsurprisingly "very happy" with the prosecutors' recommendations, adding with his usual plainspoken lucidity,

I do not insult, I do not incite to hatred, I do not discriminate. The only thing I do and will continue to do is to speak the truth.

More encouraging, Western liberty (and sanity)-sparing developments from the dangerously absurd Geert Wilders trial. As Ned May reports, with timely English translation from the local Dutch coverage at Elsevier, barring an unusual reversal by the presiding judge, prosecutors have now dropped all three charges against Mr. Wilders.

[Friday, October 15, 2010] The Public Prosecutor (OM) has asked the court in Amsterdam to acquit Geert Wilders of inciting to hatred AND religious discrimination.

The prosecution thus has on all three points demanded acquittal for Wilders. Although Wilders had made some statements that might incite to discrimination, the OM does not find these punishable, because Wilders made these statements in the context of the political debate.

The OM does not comply with the rulings for which the Freedom Party leader is on trial, all the criteria for incitement to hatred.

As further reported in translation by Ned, from the Dutch news outlet RTL, Wilders was unsurprisingly "very happy" with the prosecutors' recommendations, adding with his usual plainspoken lucidity,

I do not insult, I do not incite to hatred, I do not discriminate. The only thing I do and will continue to do is to speak the truth.